A jury yesterdayreturned a verdict that Kevin Burridge, 52, committed suicide while suffering from a mental disorder.

Mr Burridge had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, but the Norwich inquest heard that he had not been taking medication or receiving help from mental health services since a review in February 2011.

On July 17 his friend Ian Johnson was called to the house he shared with his brother Steven in Attleborough. Mr Burridge was feeling unwell and Mr Johnson called Attleborogh doctor’s surgery for help.

After being told by the receptionist that Mr Burridge was having suicidal thoughts, Dr Sabrina Khalaque phoned him and agreed to come over. She told the inquest that while Mr Burridge was feeling depressed, she did not think that he intended to kill himself.

After a 10-minute chat, she left him with his brother and returned to the surgery where she contacted the mental health team, requesting an immediate assessment to be carried out later that day.

The team acknowledged her request within 30 minutes, but by this time Mr Burridge had left the house and walked to a nearby level crossing in Bunwell Road, Besthorpe, where he walked out in front of a train, at about 4.45pm on July 17.

Norfolk coroner William Armstrong told the inquest that no-one was to blame for Mr Burridge’s death, and said that Dr Khalaque had acted appropriately on the day.

The inquest had earlier been told that London-born Mr Burridge had suffered from mental health difficulties for many years, and was also a user of cannabis and a heavy drinker, which had exacerbated his condition.